Do You see Me Now?
by LadyDaya171
Summary: Prince Hans's life becomes a little less horrible because of the kindness of a simple girl with nothing special. Not an impossible, powerful and beautiful former queen, but a plain woman with nothing to offer but her heart and the sadness within… But is that all that was locked in there?
1. Prologue

_I do not own Frozen or any related characters, all copyrigths belongs to Disney ( i do own this ideia and the OC i guess… Is that a thing to own?) Anyway, don't sue me._

_Bare with me, english is not my native language and this is my first fanfiction and i wanted to keep it simple, and i wanted to make it like a real Disney movie, and... and… Oh boy, this is going to be a mess, isn't? Well, quoting another favorite character of mine: " Let's begin! "_

**Prologue**

The scenery was not the most beautiful she ever seen.

The Southern Isles was, at its best, a barren land with little to no green, plagued with irregular terrain and a sea of black rocks with no beaches, nothing to compare with the lushfull vegetation and full colors of realms like Corona. But the incessant howling wind gave it a sense of solitude buried under this harsh environment, something she was familiar with it and finding it almost endearing.

" So, you are not from here… What brings you to our little paradise, lady? " the chauffeur chuckled, breaking the monotone sound of the gallope.

" Oh, you can call me Agatha, sir. " she replied, finally awake from her daydreaming state. " I heard about a vacancy at the kitchen's castle! "

" The castle, uh? " the old man became serious, focusing on just conduct his hay carriage.

She stretches her arms, starting to fell sore from the long journey, a little conversation would rise her from her slumber.

" Yes, that's why i asked for a ride to the city, i'm going to work as a cleaner there. "

They were slowly descending a small mountain path leading to a vast ravine. It was the first time Agatha have see grass in the island since she landed on the small quay of the fishing village.

" I see… In that case i welcome you then, my lady, and also say to not let our beloved royal family give you a false impression of the good people of The Southern Isles! "

He seemed like he wanted to say more, but became silent under his moustache again. Agatha shift her body so she could move closer to him, inquisitive.

" What do you mean? "

" My, you really aren't from around here... " before he could continue, Agatha heard a loud sound of laughs echoing.

She narrowed her eyes, searching the horizont, until she saw a big stable in the distance. There was four men in there, and while she could not see them perfectly, she noticed the three bigger men throwing something at the smaller one, who seems to be shoveling manure on a already full carriage.

" Who are they…? " she asks, already forgetting the previous conversation.

" They, my lady, are our beloved princes of The Southern Isles! " the man's words drip with derision " Well, at least three of them."

" What are they doing with that young man? "

The chauffeur frowns and startles the horse, suddenly felling the need to make haste.

" That's Hans of Westergaard, thirteenth son of His Highness King Klaus and still the youngest heir, but the royal family dishonored him. " he spat on the ground " Good riddance! "

As they pass through the path next to the stable, Agatha have a closer look of how the older brothers were ponting and screaming at a dirty man with torn princely attire, while he continues to work, ignoring the mockering.

" His own family?… Why? " she could not help but ask.

The old man raises an eyebrow.

" Ever heard of Arendelle? "


	2. A Bad Place

I wanted to keep it simple for many reasons, one of them is that i imagined this whole thing as a Disney movie and now i need to get it out of my mind before i make everybody around me insane! ( Yes, Frozen II was VERY dissaponting, it broke my heart )

It starts slow but i promise in the next chapter things will pace up (Haaannnsss) The tone will be ligth, but i want to make enjoyable for both children and adults alike, mostlly describing scenes with some insigth from the characters. Oçnly the grow ups will tahe the darker tones, i hope. Reviews are welcome!

Chapter II

A Bad Place

_A serpent._

A black serpent made of glittering rocks, entangled in itself with a menacing posture, ready to swallow the whole city. This is what the castle looked like to Agatha, she could not look away from it.

The capital os the Southern Isles was a huge city with a busy commerce of all kinds of merchannts, selling everything but their own mothers. The black rock that was found only in the islands was very valuable and moved the entire economy, allowing a steady income of imported goods.

The wealth could be seen in the central part of the capital. All the buildings have semi-circulars arches, rose windows and pointed gray roofs matching the cloudy weather that always threatened rain, even the smallest of the houses.

It would be impressive… if it wasn't the only city, in a very small kingdom, in a very small island.

It was also bursting with soldiers wearing the realm crest, they never leave their spot and always looks suspiciously over the citizens. Agatha realized they were not there to protect, but to watch.

_This place has two faces._

She remembered the shadows hiding in the alleys, the beggars in the corners and the ragged children they passed on in their way to the castle. Maybe she should had researched this reign better before traveling here.

" Here we are, my lady! " the chauffeur stopped the hay carriage next to the stairs leading to the castle entrance. " I'm afraid i will have to leave you now. "

" Thank you for everything, sir Jakkob! " she jumped off the carriage, carrying her little bundle of belongings.

" No, no, thank **you** for the company!" he gesture away. " I wish you luck, you are going to need it! "

With a movement on the horse's harness, he soon disappeared into the crowd. Agatha watched him go, pondering at his words.

" Alrigth, let's do this! " with a confident smile, she stepped in the stairs.

It was a difficult climb until she found herself before an ernomous bronze gate guarded by two ernomous guards, armed with equally enormous halberds.

They didn't move.

She quickly searched her package for a crumpled letter with a royal seal and shyly showed to them.

They still didn't move.

When Agatha tried to pass the gate, they **finally** move, blocking her way and almost chopping her head off with the halberds.

One of them pointed to his left, to a dirt path going down the small hill around the castle. She bowed her head to him and followed the path contourning the impenetrable black walls.

After a while she heard screams.

" **Move on, you slimes! Do you want to keep your fingers?! "**

A large woman was stirring among dozens of people in similar aprons. Some of them frantically washing clothes in basins while others were spreading thin sheets on the many scattered poles, all looking exhausted.

" **Then work faster! It almost nigth time!"**

Agatha awkward dodges among the servants, who ignore her focused on their tasks, trying to reach the screaming woman, who she assumed was the one in charge.

" E-excuse me! Head maid Lada? "

Lada turns to her and Agatha cringes. The maid was a tall, stout woman with brown hair that was impeccably arranged in a bun, contrasting with her humble clothes and dirty apron. She had the posture of a general, commanding an entire war operation.

" And who are _you_? " Lada crossed her arms impatiently, arms that could easily break Agatha in two pieces, if she wanted to.

" My name is Agatha. " she extends the letter to Lada, a little nervous " I'm here to deliver my application to the cleaning job. "

" Great! You are hired! " the head maid don't even look at the letter " Start rubbing something!"

" …What? "

" What? " she smiles. " You are the only applicant we had in months! I almost gave up. "

" How is that possible? " Agatha was dumbfold, she releases the letter that is carried away by the wind.

" Where are you from, dear? " Lada took pity at her confusion.

" From… from the far east… " she answered, uncomfortable.

" You should have stayed there! " the woman was actually laughing " There is nothing here but hard work, even harder punishments and the only payment is the privilege to serve the _amazing_ Westergaard! "

" I still need this job. " Agatha mumbles.

" And you got it! Congratulations! Now I need you to do something, the royal family demands clean curtains and bed sheets in the 72 rooms **every** night! "

Agatha didn't ask what would happen if they didn't make in time.

_Three__ years! He had been doing this for the past three years!_

Beneath a starry sky, three ominous figures walk slowly toward the castle.

An infamous man drags along the way, escorted by two silent guards, until he reaches the city gate.

Hans Westergaard raises his nose, straightens his ragged clothes and lifts his broad shoulders, regaining his royal composure, washing away his tiredness.

He was a disgrace, but he was also still a prince. The royal blood runs into his veins and nobody would forget that, much to his father dismay.

It was all about keeping the appeareances.

In true, King Claus vanity was the only reason why he was spared of a life time in the dungeons. Maybe this idea wasn't so bad, at least in prison his brothers wouldn't bother tormenting him and he could find the peace he craved so much.

Hans shakes his head, pushing away the thought.

That is wwhat they wanted, , they wanted him to be hidden and forgotten. That is why _His Majesty_ ordered him to be brought to the castle only at dawn, with the kingdom asleep, so that no one could see the Great Shame of the Southern Isles… He didn't intend to disappear so easily.

_Do you see me now, father?_

He did saw him, for a short time, the exact time the King usually takes to decide a peasant's fate. In Hans case, each one of his brothers, except for good old Lars, invented the most humiliating punishments. _" __L__et's make him empty the pit every week! "_ _or "_ _Oh,_ _he likes horses sooo much, let's keep him at cleaning manure for eternity! "_, and it was decided.

But it was just the beginning... He would never regain his rank in the naval army, he would never walk freely, remaining locked in his room while inside the castle, he would never appear in front of any of his relatives, only if requested. hat would have been a blessing if his brothers, or even some of his nephews, didn't like to make him a punching bag. At least before he had the right to react.

Knowing it could be much worse, not even his mother objected it, not that she ever did before… He only wishes he could forget her gaze the day he arrived from Arendelle. Public humiliation was nothing new to him, what really made him sick was the fact thhat they punished him not because of what he tried to do, but because he _failed_ to do so.

The soldiers escorting him hated him as everybody else, but they were professionals, there was no chance of escaping. The prince was known around the world and his father warned him that if he didn't take his sentence as a **man**, he would not join the Brotherhood, but the graveyard.

Hans didn't even bat an eye. He was not a coward, he didn't want to give anyone a reason to believe he was.

_A monster? Sure! A coward? NEVER!_

Finally entering the castle after a long walk between the deserted streets, the trio heads for a small wooden door away from the main gate, the service entrance. Hans must only walk the corridors reserved for the low employees, a maze of black and suffocating walls, the torches barely illuminated the hallways. He didn't mind, he had played a lot here as a child, alone, hiding from his family's antics.

The red prince climbs a spiral staircase and emerges in the halls full of mirrors that led to his room. The Westergaards love their mirrors.

He speeds up his pace, not wanting to look at his own reflection.

He was still young, handsome and strong, of course. His greens eyes were as dreamy as ever, his golden red hair shines along his sideburns, molding his chiseled features with ligth dusting freckles in his royal nose, he changed nothing but his calloused hands, sunburnt skin, undone hair and the occasional bruises from his brothers pranks… However, for whatever reason, he didn't recognize himself.

Reaching his destination, he enters his chambers and closes it without a word. T

he red carpet felt like glass under his boots.

Now was a very delicate moment.

The two guards will be guarding his door until the shift change, when other soldiers will take him to the royal stables in the morning.

None of them would help him.

Normally, his brothers would leave some kind of _surprise_ for him. Last time was a snake under the sheets, a venomous one. Runo, one of the twins, thought it appropriate.

Hans eyes starts scanning the horribles portraits of ancestors he never wanted to learn about, his collection of bottled ships, his luxuous bed, the carved bookcase, the unecessary heavy curtains because there was no windows, his brother Lars, his chest of… _Wait, Lars?_

" You are getting slow, Hans. " he says, lighting a candlelstick to illuminate the once dark chambers.

" You would be too if you had to clean five stables a day. " he could not help but noticed how his older brother looked so much like him, when in the shadows.

" Easy, boy." Lars smiles, his glasses reflecting the flames. " I came in peace. "

" As always. " Hans begins to take off his coat, eager for a bath he had yet to prepare.

" Mother sends her regards. " his brother mutters.

" Queen Habba could send them herself. " Hans turns his back on Lars, untying his neckerchief and trying not to sound sad at the same time. He failed on both things.

" You know she can't. " Lars scratches his red beard.

" She has exhausted all her favors with the King in order to convince him not to send you to the Brotherhood."

" ...Or to not get me a little _accident_. " Hans completes.

They both chuckles and stares at each other, their faces immediately darkens in silence. They knew what their father was capable of.

If King Claus knows that you are here you will be in trouble. " Hans sighs.

Lars approaches to place the candlestick on the nightstand, then sits on the antique four-poster bed.

" Some news fly fast and I didn't want you to be caught off guard. "

Hans proceeds removing his gloves and tossing it aside with his dirty clothes, nonchalant. " It is about Arendelle, Hans. "

The throwaway prince stiffens for a brief moment that lasts less than a second.

" Then spare me. " Hans sits next to him, unlancing his boots. " I could not care less. "

He could feel Lars struggling with the words… Lars never did that.

" Elsa abdicated the throne to her sister... "

_N__o._

" ...And Quenn Anna will get married this summer. "

_Stop__._ _I don't want to hear it._

" That is all I had to say. " Lars get up on his feet, moving to the door.

" Do _they_ know? " Hans voice was steady.

Lars stops in front of the door, taking a last look on his little brother before leaving.

" Yes. "

A warning.

Lars went to his quarters to warn him.

His life was about to become much, much worse, as if that were possible.

Hans waited for his brother to leave, he waited a moment longer, before abruptly getting up and grabbing the closest precious thing next to him and hurling it with so much strengh into the black walls. Pieces of glass and wood scattered across the floor.

He walked in circles, biting his nails.

His breathing was panting, his green eyes bulging.

He wanted to scream, he wanted to scream forever.

Instead, he runs his hand through his hair, clears his throat, and crouches down to collect the shards. He recognizes what he had broken, his favorite bottled ship, the one that represented the first colonists.

" Always making a mess, don't you Hans? " he whispers to himself.

Suddenly he takes a large glass shard in his hands. He stares at it for a long time.


	3. Author's Note

THIS FANFICTON WILL BE CONTINUED IN ACHIVE OF OUR OWN AO3 UNDER THE SAME NAME:

Lady_Daya

Do You See Me Now?

Please, google it and check it out, it will be updated constantly.

THANK YOU!


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